Guardianship

Forms

Select the form you need below, and follow the link to either download and print the file, or fill if out on your computer, then print it out.

NOTE: You may not need all of these forms, or you may need more forms. If you're not sure which forms to use, talk with a lawyer. Find a lawyer. For help finding local court forms you may need, go to your county's court website.

Each proposed guardian must complete his or her own form. This form is confidential and will not be a part of the public file. However, proposed guardians are required to complete and submit this form under Rule 7.1001 of the California Rules of Court. The information provided will be used by the court to help determine whether to appoint that person as guardian.

If the court appoints someone as guardian of the person for a child, he or she will be required to assume important duties and obligations. Each proposed guardian should read and clearly understand the information on this form.

Declaration Under Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) (Form FL-105/GC-120) See the instructions for this form.

The UCCJEA form is required to give the judge information about the children who are the subject of this case, whether or not any other judge has made any court orders related to them, or if there are other people who claim a right to custody of them.

This form is the formal order the judge signs at the hearing for general guardianship, if all the necessary forms have been completed and filed with the court and the court approves the appointment of the proposed guardian.

This form, when signed by the court clerk, is proof of your status as the minor's guardian. You should always have a certified copy in your possession. The order is not effective until the Letters have issued.

The Notice of Hearing form is required by law to be delivered to all persons who are entitled to know about the guardianship proceeding. It informs the person that there will be a guardianship hearing, and when and where it will be held.

Petition for Appointment of Temporary Guardian of the Person (Form GC-110(P)) The petition is the form that starts the guardianship process. This is where you state what it is you are requesting and why.

Order Appointing Temporary Guardian or Conservator (Form GC-140) This form is the formal order the judge signs appointing you as temporary guardian.

Get instructions on how to "serve" these forms. Read "What is 'Proof of Service' in Guardianship?" (GC-510):

This form is proof of your status as temporary guardian once it is completed by you and signed by the court clerk. You should always have a certified copy in your possession. (There is a fee for having your Letter certified.) The order appointing you temporary guardian is not effective until the Letters have been issued.

This form, when signed by the court clerk, is proof of your status as the minor's guardian. You should always have a certified copy in your possession. The order is not effective until the Letters have been issued.

Select the form you need below, and follow the link to either download and print the file, or fill if out on your computer, then print it out. These forms will open in a new window. When you have printed out each form, please close that window and continue on this site.

NOTE: You may not need all of these forms, or you may need more forms. If you're not sure which forms to use, talk with a lawyer. Find a lawyer.

Petition for Termination of Guardianship (Form GC-255) This petition may be filed by the guardian or the child's parent.

Order Terminating Guardianship (Form GC-260) Prepare the Order and have it available on the date of your hearing. If the court grants the termination, the judge signs this order. You need to file the original order and a copy in the clerk's office after the judge signs it.

Notice of Hearing (Form GC-020) The Notice of Hearing form is required by law to be delivered to all persons who are entitled to know that you are asking the court to end the guardianship. It informs the person that there will be a hearing to end the guardianship, and when and where it will be held.

The judge has to be sure that everyone involved in the court case has information about what the other people have filed before he or she can let the case move forward. To prove to the court that copies of the documents were given to everyone, "Proof of Service" forms are to be filled out and filed properly with the court.

REMEMBER: YOU CANNOT SERVE YOUR COURT FORMS YOURSELF.

Someone over 18 (for example a friend, relative, or a professional process server) who is not involved in the case in any way must serve the court forms for you. The person who serves the documents has to complete one Proof of Service form for each person served and return it to you for filing with the court.

To read an information sheet called, "What is 'Proof of Service' in Guardianship?" (GC-510),click on the language you need.

Select the form you need below, and follow the link to either download and print the file, or fill if out on your computer, then print it out. These forms will open in a new window. When you have printed out each form, please close that window and continue on this site.

NOTE: You may not need all of these forms, or you may need more forms. If you're not sure which forms to use, talk with a lawyer. Find a lawyer.

If you don’t know where one or more of the people who should be served lives now, the court will expect you to try very hard to find them. For example, it will expect you to look in the telephone directory for the area the person was living in the last time you had contact with them. It will expect you to contact the U.S. Postal Service for the forwarding address of the person and the Registrar of Voters in the person’s last county of residence. It will expect you to contact the person’s last known place of employment, and relatives, friends and acquaintances.

If you have contacted all of these people and agencies and still cannot find the person to serve them with copies of the court papers, you have to let the court know this by filling out and filing a “Declaration of Due Diligence.” (“Diligent” means steady, earnest, and energetic effort. Therefore, in this context “due diligence” means making as careful and thorough a search as can be expected from a reasonable person under the particular circumstances.)

Some courts have local “Declaration of Due Diligence” forms that you can use to let the court know what you have done to contact each person.

If your court does not have a local form, you could use the general:

Declaration (Form MC-030) and fill in the information yourself. Watch the instructions for this form.

You must make one copy of eachProof of Service form or "Declaration of Due Diligence" and take these forms to the court clerk. The clerk will file and stamp all the forms. The court will keep the original of each form, and will give the copies of these forms back to you.

KEEP YOUR COPY OF EACH PROOF OF SERVICE IN A SAFE PLACE and take it to any court hearing that has been scheduled in this case.